Deputy district attorney out after 6 years

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos confirmed Tuesday that Allan Dollison no longer works in his office as a deputy district attorney.

Gallegos said he could not comment on whether Dollison -- a United State Army veteran who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq -- had resigned or was terminated on Friday. He was hired by the office in 2006.

"Certainly, I appreciate all of Allan's work with the District Attorney's Office and his commitment to his community and country," Gallegos said Tuesday. "But other than that, I can't discuss the nature of his leaving."

County Human Resources Department Director Dan Fulks said he could not immediately comment on the circumstances surrounding Dollison's departure.

Dollison prosecuted violent felonies and other cases for the district attorney's office for more than six years, and had become one of the office's senior prosecutors. He declined to comment. With Dollison's departure, the office now appears to be short on attorneys with experience prosecuting violent felony cases.

His cases included the murder conviction of Brian Cole Fiore, a Bay Area resident accused of killing his friend after a marijuana heist while the pair led law enforcement on a 20-mile high speed chase on State Route 299 in 2009.

Early in his career, Dollison was disciplined by the State Bar.

In August 2000, Dollison received a 60-day suspension of his law license and was placed on two years' probation after stipulating to 16 counts of misconduct in four consolidated cases, according to the State Bar.

Those included failing to perform legal services competently or respond to client inquires; improperly withdrawing from representation; failing to return client files and unearned fees; and two counts of failing to cooperate with the bar's investigation.

The State Bar report stated as a mitigating factor that Dollison started a solo law practice soon after passing the bar, but due to a lack of experience and business acumen, he accepted difficult cases for relatively low fees.

When he was hired by Humboldt County District Attorney's Office in 2006, Dollison said in an interview with the Times-Standard that he got in over his head as a new attorney and took on more than he could handle at the time.